God "lays all His love" (ABBA) on us--the Incarnation and the Resurrection

We will never fully understand God, not even close.  We won't ever fully understand Jesus even though he walked amongst us for 33 years.  But what we can understand deeply and unequivocally are two basic truths about God, probably the two most important truths:  a)God is "with us;"  and b)God is "for us."  Two basic truths about God that are reflected by the two most important facts of Christ's life--his odd birth and his ignominious death.

First, as one of my sons said: "Dad, Jesus was born lowly so that all could come to Him."  This "lowly birth" meant that persons of any social status would not feel that Jesus was above them.  More importantly, the fact that God deigned to live amongst us--in this difficult sometimes seemingly God-forsaken world--reflects God's solitary with mankind.  God is not "above" our station in life.  God is not some distant puppet-master.  God is not dispassionate towards his creation.  No, God knows and experienced the troubles and travails, the pain and heartache of being human.  God is "with us" in a way that seems unimaginable, in a way that is unique in world religions.

Second, the Cross is a further reflection of God's solidarity with us (we all must die), but it also reflects that God is "for us."  Certainly God need not have died on the Cross.  From His divine standpoint, He could have been miraculously rescued.  From His human standpoint, it seems that Pilate would have let Him go if He had just responded to Pilate--if He had uttered a "single word" in His defense.  But no, He remained mute in the face of the religious persons who wanted Him dead and the bureaucrats who wanted to placate the religious persons and, thereby, maintain peace.

Christ went to the Cross to demonstrate the blood-lust, the inveterate sinfulness of mankind.  He went to the Cross to demonstrate that, even in light of our hopeless sinfulness, He forgives us.  "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do."  To me, these are the most comforting words ever spoken by a man.  Since they came from God, they give us hope--hope beyond compare--hope with no boundaries--hope of limitless duration.

Praise be to the God who is "with us" and "for us."